


burn

by starxreactor



Series: Stony Bingo 2019 [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Break Up, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Not A Fix-It, Post-Civil War (Marvel), Steve's Letter to Tony Post-Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 13:36:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17663645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starxreactor/pseuds/starxreactor
Summary: Tony refuses to let Steve burn him any longer.Square O5 – never again of the Stony Bingo





	burn

**Author's Note:**

> I was planning to go in order for the Stony Bingo Card, but then I saw square O5 which is "never again," and my brain immediately went BURN.
> 
> So this is an angsty, short fic inspired by Burn from Hamilton.
> 
> By the way, I didn't tag this Not Steve Friendly because it's mostly Tony venting and it's meant to come from a place of love. Hurt, broken love, yes, but love all the same. I imagine that at some point in the future they do kiss and make up.

The paper is shaking.

Tony resolutely ignores the fact that it’s because of his hand, choosing instead to commit every word, every pen stroke, every smudge, to memory.

Since Siberia, he had been numb. Cold. A snowflake, listlessly drifting through the air, going through the motions of life. But this  _ letter _ – now a volcano is erupting inside of him, enraging every pore, every cell, every atom that makes him up. He’s an inferno, blazing like a star and burning everything within reach.

He reaches for a clean piece of paper. It’s –  _ his  _ – desk, he should have some lying around. The pen trembles as the tip kisses the sheet, permanently staining it with his heart, his soul, his love.

_ Steve, _

_ My love for you was as bright and strong as the sun. I gave you everything. But it’s clear now that I wasn’t enough for you. You wanted more, and you devoured everything you could get and even what you couldn’t get. _

Tony wipes the liquid on his face, careful to not get it on the letter.

_ In the end, you devoured me, too. _

_ I can’t count the amount of times I’ve reread your letter, but no matter what it doesn’t answer or fix anything. You give me false niceties, explain why you hurt me, but not once did you mention how I felt, or what you did. You send me this phone, assuming I want anything to do with you right now. _

_ You’re so caught up in yourself that you don’t even realize the fire you started was burning up everything around you. You didn’t realize that it burned me. _

_ But now all you have left are the ashes. _

_ The sun is brilliant as the day is long, but eventually it has its time to sleep and bring upon a new day. My love for you has fizzled out, like a candle in the wind. _

_ Like my mother’s life. _

His vision is blurring, his strokes getting more erratic and sharper, just as the fire in his heart reaches its crescendo.

_ The ashes of your words will no longer hurt me. I refuse to let myself be caught in your fire anymore. You can let yourself burn. _

He folds the paper up, placing it in an envelope. Without thinking, he presses a feather-light kiss to it, eyes still watering.

_ No. Never again. _

“Never again,” he whispers to himself, to the letter. And then, again. He delicately seals the envelope, making sure to trap his words inside.

Mechanically, he reaches for  _ his  _ letter and that damned flip phone. Mechanically, he pushes himself up from  _ his  _ desk and walks away. Mechanically, he lights the fireplace and watches as the dark wood is set ablaze.

The sight of the fire only serves to heat his own heart. “Never again,” Tony says, hands shaking. He reaches out with his left arm, the one that trembles the most. He refuses to look at the lies written inside once more. “Never again.”

First is the letter, which crumbles to ashes in a matter of seconds.

Next is the phone. Tony stands there the entire time it takes for the plastic to deform, to melt, to disappear, the blaze reflecting the fire in his own eyes. “Never again,” he whispers to himself for the last time, feeling the words settle in his heart like a stone in the ocean.

His tears are falling, but they’re not enough to quell the fire raging both inside him and outside.


End file.
